On Hilo we saw how far down tourism was from 9/11, it was hurting. Since Hilo was a destination more for flowers and plants and it rained a lot, most tourism was from the east and the Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans were not coming. In the hotel restaurant there were few customers for breakfast, so they quit serving it and the same for other meals. Luckily there were other places to eat in town, it is a working city.
Hilo gets more rainfall than the Kona side:
The next day we toured the area and at the end of one road blocked by lava were vendors (the picture is from the lava):
We also went back to Akaka Falls, just north of the city. It is always like a steam bath there with the forest holding the moisture. Look at the moss on the bamboo and how pretty the falls are:
There is even a waterfall in the city of Hilo (it was raining when I took this) and a picture of Diane with the convertible top down between rains:
Another couple day we went to Volcano National Park, about 25 miles away. Here is Kilauea, where all the lava comes from:
Here is a lava tube in false color since it was dark and the flash came out interesting:
We drove out where we could see the steam of the lava going into the ocean, and even in this fairly new lava you could find plants:
We found a wonderful place to eat in Hilo, Cafe Pesto, an Italian place and we had two meals there in our short stay. It was still crowded, the locals really like it also.